WAIVED
OT Anthony Alabi
CB Kyle Arrington
DT Chris Bradwell
C Rob Bruggerman
DE Jarrett Buie
S Steve Cargile
WR Patrick Carter
DT Rashaad Duncan
DE Louis Holmes
RB Kareem Huggins
CB Darrell Hunter
OT James Lee
S Donte Nichols (Injured)
TE Jason Pociask
TE Ryan Purvis
LB Bo Ruud
WR Mario Urrutia
Terminated Vested Veterans – Immediately become free agents
K Matt Bryant
FB Jameel Cook
WR Cortez Hankton
WR Marcus Maxwell
Placed on Injured Reserve
OT Xavier Fulton
Moved to Reserve/Suspended List
S Tanard Jackson
The biggest news may be who is not on that list. The club will for now keep all four quarterbacks, but don’t be surprised to hear trade rumors regarding QB Luke McCown in the weeks to come.
With S Tanard Jackson being placed on the Reserve/Suspended list, this gives the Bucs 52 players and opens the door for one more move in the near future.
The release of K Matt Bryant is not completely unexpected. A right hamstring injury forced Bryant to miss all four preseason games and helped clear the way for 27-year old K Mike Nugent to claim the job as his own.
Nugent had joind the club in the offseason as a free agent. Through the four preseason games, Nugent was 6-6 on extra points and 6-9 on field goals with a long of 51. On kickoffs, Nugent averaged 65.1 yards on 16 kickoffs.
The biggest difference between the two kickers comes on kickoffs. While Bryant struggled to kick the ball past the ten yard line, Nugent seems to reach the end zone with relative ease.
Last season, Bryant had a franchise record 131 points which was good enough for fourth in the league.
FB Jameel Cook’s release was a little surprising, but makes perfect sense due to the outstanding performance by FB BJ Askew .
OT Xavier Fulton was placed on Injured Reserve after suffering a knee injury during the Bucs final preseason game. He is the only player that the Bucs drafted in April who will not be on the opening day roster.